Fort Benning claimed the first Doughboy Bowl Trophy as it defeated Columbus State University’s club football team 41-6 Thursday during the second annual Doughboy Bowl at Doughboy Stadium.
About 2,500 fans flocked to the stadium to witness what both teams hope will become the beginning of a crosstown rivalry.
The 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team defeated CSU 29-13 last year in the first Doughboy Bowl, but this year is the first time a team has held the Doughboys name since 1983.
“Last year was a good game,” CSU head coach Bruce Hubbard said. “It was a good environment and everyone was excited about it. We were looking forward to it again this year. The team has not embraced it as a rivalry as of yet, but maybe as time goes on it may get that way.”
Doughboys head coach Jason Gibson said he considered Thursday’s game to be the most important of the season.
“This is the game we have to win,” Gibson said. “It’s fun we got to play extra games, but to be able to play CSU and win this every year is something we want to do.”
Coming off a 45-0 loss to Georgia Military College Oct. 15, the Doughboys looked better in every phase of the game against the Cougars. Quarterback Blake Powers completed 15 of 27 pass attempts for 239 yards and four touchdowns while running back Emmanuel Batson rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
“We really wanted to come out and show we were a better team than what we showed against Georgia Military,” Powers said. “We wanted to make a statement tonight and I thought we did a good job of doing that.”
Powers threw three of his touchdown passes in the first half, two of them to Anthony Neloms, who finished the game with six catches for 101 yards. The second came with 10:15 remaining in the second quarter as Neloms ran a seam route over the middle and exploited an area with no safety coverage, resulting in a 35-yard touchdown.
“The line made a lot of adjustments in protection and I noticed we caught everything,” Gibson said. “We didn’t drop many passes. We converted a lot of big third-down plays. A couple of times, the officials had us at first-and-27 and to be able to overcome those penalties was huge.”
The only negative for Fort Benning was six injuries, all of which occurred in the first half. Gibson said four of the injured players are starters, including offensive lineman Dustin Goss, who is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
“We had a lot of guys hurt, which is discouraging,” he said. It’s tough. Hopefully we can get them back. We need them.”
The Doughboys will get their first road test of the season Sunday against LaGrange, which they beat 33-12 in the season’s opening game at Doughboy Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Callaway Stadium.
Gibson said he is unsure of what to expect about playing in a road game atmosphere.
“We’re going to find out when we get there,” Gibson said. “It’s going to be a great setup. They have a great facility and great coaches. I’m excited about these guys being able to experience a road game. Every week we have something more to look forward to.”
